The tragedy and value of water

TAPPED OUTDiseases caused by water transcend tsunami disaster

In the wake of the recent Asian tsunami, health experts and emergency response teams are working feverishly to provide what North Americans take for granted each day: clean, safe drinking water.

A major waterborne disease outbreak in the tsunami-affected countries could claim as many lives as the tidal wave itself. The World Health Organization lists ensuring uninterrupted provision of safe drinking water as the most important preventive measure to be implemented following the massive flooding.

In North America, we don't hesitate to drink from virtually any public tap, because we don't have to. Even following disasters such as major floods and earthquakes, we expect our potable water service to be restored swiftly. Our communications technology is second-to-none, and most water utilities have well-developed emergency response plans. Water treatment technology and disinfection practices have virtually eliminated waterborne disease throughout North America.

The conditions in parts of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and elsewhere are quite different. The areas hit by the tidal wave are ripe for outbreaks of cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery and diarrhea. Water and sanitation systems are destroyed, making normal treatment and disinfection processes irrelevant and distribution impossible. In addition, seawater has carried contaminants deep inland. As they desperately seek water sources, people are likely to drink from stagnant, contaminated pools.

To make matters worse, people are crowded into buildings and camps, where latrines are overtaxed and sewage threatens to seep into other water sources. Relief agencies and public health workers will have a difficult time implementing a strategy that prevents the spread of waterborne disease.

But consider this disturbing fact. Even if a tsunami-related disease outbreak is entirely averted, three weeks from today, more than 125,000 people across the globe will have died from waterborne disease most of them children. In a month, the immediate loss of life associated with the tsunami will likely be surpassed by the number of people dying from drinking unsafe water.

There has been a lot of speculation about how many lives might have been saved with a tsunami detection and warning system. No such system is needed to fight global water-related illnesses. We know the disaster is coming daily. The technology and resources exist to stem the tide. And still, on this very day, 6,000 people throughout our world will die from easily preventable waterborne disease.

North Americans are generous people, particularly when disaster strikes. The images of unimaginable tragedy and heartache brought to us through the media have inspired many corporations, individuals and other entities to reach deep into their resources to help the tsunami victims. The relief agencies on the ground in Asia are doing heroic work made possible by the sacrifices of our citizens and businesses. Hopefully, their efforts will prevent a catastrophic outbreak of waterborne illness.

Unfortunately, the threat will not subside until each family has access to safe, sustainable drinking water and adequate sanitation. Pictures of severely damaged water infrastructure do not inspire visceral sympathy, but if inadequately addressed, these water and sanitation wounds can fester into a public health disaster. We should all hope that the spotlight on tsunami tragedy will spawn greater public awareness of safe water concerns not only in Asia, but also in developing countries throughout the world.

Water hygiene organizations like Water for People and WaterAid work year-round to help impoverished people with long-term drinking water and sanitation projects. They also provide education that helps communities develop facilities and practices that lead to healthier futures. Their work is largely invisible to us, but it is heroic work that saves countless lives.

The next time you turn on the tap and enjoy a glass of fresh, clean water, let's remember the estimated 1.1 billion people in developing countries who put their health in jeopardy when they drink from community sources. If governments, businesses and citizens could respond to the everyday global drinking water crisis with the same generosity they have to the tsunami victims, we could greatly diminish the daily disaster we already know is coming.